BALTIMORE, MD – Johns Hopkins senior cornerback PJ Penders returned an interception 31 yards for a touchdown with 1:47 remaining in the fourth quarter and junior Carter Hogg intercepted a pass in the end zone with 18 seconds remaining to help the Blue Jays to a 20-13 win over Rowan at Homewood Field Friday night.
The win, the first for Blue Jay head coach Dan Wodicka at Homewood Field, improves the Blue Jays' record to 3-1 on the year, while the Profs slip to 2-2.
The Blue Jays led 14-13 before punting the ball back to the Profs with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. After picking up a first down, the Profs' Matt Welsey floated a screen pass to his left that Penders intercepted in stride and raced into the end zone to give the Blue Jays a 20-13 lead.
Rowan had one final chance to pull even or win as they took over at their own 25 after the kickoff following Penders' touchdown. Eight plays later the Profs had a first-and-goal at the Blue Jay eight-yard line, but after spiking the ball on first down, quarterback Nate Maiers misfired on back-to-back passes down the middle before Hogg stepped in front of his fourth-down attempt in the end zone to seal the win.
While the defense sealed the win late, it was first-time starting quarterback James Rinello, who was playing for injured starter Bay Harvey, that sparked the Blue Jays to a 14-7 lead at the half. Rinello directed an eight-play, 51-yard, game-opening drive that he capped with a two-yard touchdown pass to PJ Scales to give Hopkins the early lead.
Rowan pulled even early in the second quarter as they turned a fumble recovery into a 25-yard scoring drive that Nunes Bukula polished off with a three-yard run less than three minutes into the second period.
The Blue Jays answered with their longest scoring drive of the night as they responded to Bukula's touchdown with an eight-play, 69-yard drive that ended with Rinello firing a 30-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Robby Enright to make it 14-7. Enright was also making the first start of his career and out-jumped a defender in the end zone for his first career touchdown.
Both defenses were strong in the second half with Rowan managing to trim the deficit to 14-13 on Thomas Lapierriere field goals of 42 and 33 yards midway through the third and early in the fourth quarter, respectively.
Johns Hopkins twice had possession deep in Rowan territory in the second half, but a missed field goal late in the third quarter and a turnover on downs in the fourth kept things tight before Penders and Hogg provided the late-game heroics for the Blue Jays.
Inside the Box Score – Johns Hopkins
• Rinello was 12-of-22 for 139 yards with the two touchdown passes and also rushed for 38 yards on the night.
• Scales had a team-high five receptions for 31 yards and the one touchdown and Ernight added three receptions for 46 yards and the one score. Geoff Schroeder rushed for a game-high 57 yards for the Blue Jays.
• Penders had five tackles to go along with his interception return for a score, while Hogg had six tackles and one pass breakup to go along with his interception.
• Sophomore Will Seibert had two of Hopkins three sacks on the night and Oliver Craddock posted a team-high 10 tackles.
Inside the Box Score – Rowan
• Two Rowan quarterbacks – Welsey and Maiers – combined to go 30-of-54 for 265 yards with no touchdowns and the two late interceptions.
• Michael Zarfati (9-84), Isaac Jean-Baptiste (7-56) and Luke Hoke (7-50) were the top targets in the passing game for the Profs.
• The Rowan defense held the Blue Jays to a 253 yards of total offense and was led by Aenas Robinson's nine tackles.
Notes of Interest
• Dating back to early in the 2006 season, Rinello is the 13th consecutive Johns Hopkins quarterback to win the first start of his career.
• Dating back to late in the 2010 season, Johns Hopkins is now 42-3 in its last 45 games in the month of October.
• Tonight's win was the 16th straight at home on Friday night for the Blue Jays. Johns Hopkins last lost a home game on a Friday night in 2007.
Johns Hopkins will return to action on Friday, October 11 when the Blue Jays travel to Gettysburg for their Centennial Conference-opener against the Bullets (7 pm).
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